This Diwali

The spirit of Diwali is in the air! Lights, friends and family, gifts, pyrotechnics and er…great food.

But with food, there comes a catch. You are extremely vulnerable to putting on pounds as you remain surrounded by gulab jamuns, kaju ki barfi, rasogollas and other such sinful delights.

Festivals have the inevitable happiness attached to them. And food is the quint-essential ingredient of this festive happiness, be it Holi, Id, Christmas or Diwali. In fact, during Diwali one gets to indulge in calorie-rich excesses much more than other occasions. Let’s look at the ways and tricks (yes, tricks) which can help you remain guilt-free as you gorge on your favourite mithai during Diwali:

Eat in Moderation and Eat Slow

Nobody is asking you to turn a blind eye towards all the mouth-watering sweet meats but at least you can cut down on the quantity. Easier said than done? We’ll say yes but it’s certainly not impossible. When you pick up your favourite sweets from the serving plate, make sure that you go for smaller portions. Eat slowly and gradually. Savour the taste instead of just gulping them in.

Avoid Second Helpings

Nutritionists have been saying for a long time that for most people second helpings are the chief cause of putting on weight. However tempted you are, avoid second servings of the sinful foods you’ll come across this Diwali. Sit away from where the food is being served or just give away your plate once you’re done with the first serving.

Use Low-fat Ingredients

If you prepare sweets and delicacies yourself, try using low-fat (skimmed) milk and other dairy-products. You can switch to artificial sweeteners. You can even go a step ahead by natural sweeteners like honey, jaggery, dates etc. Nowadays, sugar-free sweets and ice-creams are easily available in the market. Go for them and stay guilt-free.

Drink Water Before Snacking

Before devouring delicacies and snacks, drink adequate quantities of water. This will help you tame your cravings as you will experience a feeling of fullness.

Bid Adieu to Carbonated Drinks

Aerated soft drinks can undo all the effort you make in the gym. Stay away from them as they add unnecessary  empty calories which are difficult to burn later. A good idea will be to go for juices.

Gift the Gifted Sweets to Others

Sounds cheap? No, it isn’t. If you keep all the sweets which you got as gifts with yourself, you’ll either eat them up (and thus fill in calories) or they’ll get wasted and eventually thrown out which is a terrible wastage of food. Share the sweets and chocolates with your friends, family, neighbours etc. You can also give them to your domestic help or the neighborhood watchman.

Don’t Skip Exercise

This is very important. Just because it’s the Diwali day, it doesn’t mean that you can skip your morning yoga session or your gym. Diwali should give you no excuse for disrupting your daily routine. Instead of lazing around in the house, keep doing some sort of physical activity. In fact, during these days try to do some extra exercise as you know that you’ll have calorie-rich foods waiting for you once you reach home.